Chad Burnheimer, 45, stands on the enclosed front porch, now his man cave, at the Pittsburgh house that belongs to his ex-wife, Holly Platt, 46. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, eight years after their divorce, and moved in with Ms. Platt and their three children.Justin Merriman for the Wall Street Journal

An Ex-Husband Moves Back In—for Cancer Care

As families in the U.S. become smaller and more far-flung, new caregivers emerge, including ex-spouses; ‘People at work think I’m crazy’

Chad Burnheimer, 45, stands on the enclosed front porch, now his man cave, at the Pittsburgh house that belongs to his ex-wife, Holly Platt, 46. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, eight years after their divorce, and moved in with Ms. Platt and their three children.Justin Merriman for the Wall Street Journal

Chad Burnheimer and Holly Platt, both in their 40s, had been divorced for eight years when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in April 2017.

At that point, Ms. Platt became his caregiver, taking him to the doctor, monitoring his medicine and joining him at support groups for those with brain tumors. He moved into her Pittsburgh home with their three children, ages 11, 14 and 21. The enclosed front porch, where she had often worked on her laptop, turned into his retreat of sorts, its walls covered with Pittsburgh Steelers...